Wednesday, December 21

Lay's Potato Chips

I always say that marketing is a spectator sport and we can learn from each other. It looks like Lay's Potato Chips took a page out of the Coca Cola vending "book" when it created its latest stunt.

A while back I wrote about the Coca Cola "happiness machine" where the brand put up a vending machine at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia that dispensed random acts of happiness instead of bottles of Coca Cola. Things like flowers and pizzas ... all caught on tape.

Lay's followed suit at a Walmart in Argentina with its own version, tied directly to a product attribute it wanted to promote. This is no ordinary vending machine. Instead of putting in coins, you insert a raw potato. The machine then kicks into gear showing how the potato is processed ... and then a bag of "fresh" chips pops out.

It appears as if the vending machine actually just made the chips, but it's actually a video. But still very cool. And totally makes the point that these chips are made from 100% real potatoes and are incredibly fresh. Love how the brand managers "searched and reapplied" a marketing idea that they saw in the marketplace, but then made it their own. And created a retail experience tied directly to the message that they wanted to communicate.

I got it. What's your experience? Jim

Jim Joseph
President of Lippe Taylor
Author of The Experience Effect
Professor at NYU